1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shippers that contain real-time temperature and location trackers.
2. The Relevant Technology
Conventional temperature loggers are commonly used for measuring the temperature of an article as it is shipped between different locations. Specifically, there are many articles whose viability, life span, or other properties are dependent on maintaining the temperature of the article below a threshold temperature as the article is shipped between locations. For example, vaccines, cell cultures, and many other biological materials must continuously remain below a threshold temperature to remain viable.
To monitor the temperature of such articles during shipping, the article and a temperature logger are disposed within the chamber of an insulated shipping container. The temperature logger has a box shaped configuration that houses a temperature sensor, a small CPU with memory, and a battery. The temperature logger is manually activated just prior to being enclosed within the container. During transport of the container, the temperature logger monitors the temperature of the article by monitoring the surrounding temperature within the chamber of the shipping container. This can be accomplished by continuously recording the temperature within the container or by recording the temperature within the container each time the temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold.
Once the shipping container reaches its final destination, the container is opened and the temperature logger is located and manually turned off. Information from the temperature logger is then downloaded onto a computer where it is processed and analyzed to determine if the temperature of the article was maintained within an acceptable range during transport.
One of the shortcomings of the above system is that the shipping container must be opened and the temperature logger located and manually turned off before the temperature logger stops recording temperatures or temperature variations. That is, as the shipping container is opened, the temperature logger is exposed to ambient temperature conditions. The shipped article is typically moved quickly to a refrigerated compartment following opening of the container so as to maintain the article at the desired temperature. However, depending on the ambient temperature and the delay in finding and deactivating the temperature logger that remains within the shipping container, the temperature logger can be subject to and record elevated temperatures beyond the threshold temperature before deactivation of the temperature logger. This commonly occurs when the person unpacking the article forgets to turn off the temperature logger or significantly delays such deactivation.
Once the information on the temperature logger is processed and displayed, the elevated readings at the end of the logging period can falsely reflect that the article exceeded the temperature threshold, thus implying that the article is no longer viable. Because the owner of the article is unable to substantiate whether or not the article was indeed subject to the recorded elevated temperatures, out of an abundance of caution and safety, the owner of the article is often required to dispose of the article without use.
Another shortcoming with the above system is that neither the shipper nor the receiver is able to determine where the package is or what temperature variations have occurred until after the shipping container has reached its final destination. Thus, even if an elevated temperature occurs early in the shipping process, this does not become known until the package arrives at the final destination and the information on the temperature logger has been processed and displayed. Only at this time does the owner of the article know to send a second shipping container with a replacement article, which would then not arrive at the final destination until after also having gone through the entire shipping cycle. If the owner were to know in real time that the elevated temperature has occurred, he could send a replacement article at that time, instead of waiting for the original shipping container to arrive, thereby saving time.
Another shortcoming with the above system is that if an elevated temperature occurs during a shipment, the owner has no way of determining where that elevated temperature occurred. If, however, the owner were to know where elevated temperatures occurred, trends and other information could be obtained to determine and help correct the situations that cause the elevated temperatures to occur.
Accordingly, what are needed are systems or methods for overcoming all or some of the above shortcomings.